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2016: Not My Miserable Cesspool

By this point, we’ve all decided that 2016 was a miserable cesspool that needs to be forgotten. While I agree it was horrible for many reasons (ie: international unrest, terrorist attacks, political events, and celebrity deaths as the mouldy cherry on top), for me personally and professionally, it was a period of growth and wonderful firsts. At the beginning of the year I had the privilege of filming interviews with Holocaust Survivors and Righteous Among the Nations for the March of the Living. It was single handedly the most fulfilling project I got to work on last year. To sit in a room with these incredible people and hear their stories of struggle and selflessness was humbling. It was a great reminder to be thankful for all that I have.

Two of those things I am constantly grateful for are my family and my friends, most of whom are basically like a second family to me. I’m extremely lucky to get to work with a lot of these folks on a series called Out with Dad. Production on seasons four and five continued throughout the year, and on those shoots we laughed, cried, and laughed until we cried. There were a few stressful days, but, for the most part, things went pretty smoothly. Working with the cast and crew of this series is always a blast, and leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy inside. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done this year, and I’m excited to see what the future has in store for us.

While the majority of my work last year was corporate and commercial in nature, I did get to shoot a few short films (“Tough as Nails,” “Frame,” “Once Upon a Time In The West End”) and web series (“Happy Her,” “INDIEpendent") in addition to Out with Dad. I laughed hysterically at the talented Sophia Fabiilli and Michelle Alexander on “Overachieving Underdogs,” met some amazing new people on a short film called “Women Not Permitted,” worked with some wonderful old friends on another short called “Liaison,” and caught up with some familiar faces on a feature called “Art of Obsession.” Later in the year I also started doing some EPK work which took me to a few Hollywood film sets. It’s been interesting to see how the big budget films function versus the independents.

2016 was also the year I focussed more on personal projects. The first episode of my series “The Creative Type” went live. As with anything creative, I was extremely nervous to put it out there in the world; it took me nine months from shooting to uploading because I was obsessively fixing edits and wanting it to be perfect, until I finally decided to suck it up and post it. To my pleasant surprise, it was very well received, and I’m quite proud of how it turned out. Early this year I’ll be releasing episode two, and I’m hoping to have a total of six completed by the end of 2017. *fingers crossed*

In addition to 2016 being a very fulfilling year professionally, it was also home to me scratching three items off of my bucket list: 1. attend Just for Laughs in Montreal 2. go on an airplane 3. get a passport

I grew up watching The Comedy Network, and Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, and Whoopi Goldberg were my favourite actors, so naturally I always wanted to go to Just for Laughs. This year my friends Jason Leaver, Kate Conway, and Russell Winkelaar submitted a web series called “But How Do You Have Sex?” to the pitch circuit and got accepted. They managed to score a couple extra passes, so I was able to tag along. Not only did I get to attend JFL in Montreal as I had always dreamed, but I was able to go into the industry only events. At one of these events I got to meet Cameron Esposito, someone whose comedy I’ve enjoyed for years. The always lovely Tonya pulled a “have you met Ted,” and abandoned me to stand there stammering in front of the comedy goddess. I have never sweated that profusely in my life. *hat tip* Thanks Tonya :P Later in the week Esposito performed live, which I got into for free (yay Industry Pass!), and I congratulated her on a job well done a bit later at the Funny or Die party (what is my life?!). Did I mention that was my first time in Montreal? Another check for the bucket list.

In my day, I’ve done quite a bit of travelling within North America. My family and I went to New York, and Ohio (prior to needing a passport to cross the border), as well as Northern-ish Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, but these were all road trips; I had never been on a plane. At the end of September I had a gig out West, and the company flew the cast/crew to Edmonton. Because of this gig, I entered my first airport ever, was closer to a plane than I had ever been, and was the furthest from the ground in my life. Take off was spectacular!… until the plane started banking left. Though I had resolved to trust the faceless stranger at the controls in the cockpit and leave my life in their hands, my stomach flopped when I saw sky to my right, and ground to my left. Once we got settled and were headed in the right direction, my discomfort subsided, and I realized it felt like a train, only slightly louder with the engines to either side. We experienced minimal turbulence, and landed in a clear skied and sunny Alberta. That being said, landing was not my favourite. Especially the return landing, which was night and rainy.

When I flew to Edmonton for the gig, I technically didn’t need a passport since I was travelling within Canada. All I had to show was my driver’s licence (thank you Charter of Rights and Freedoms for making that possible!). Upon getting back, I decided I should get my passport just so… you know, I could travel outside of my own country and stuff. I had been dragging my heels for years because I thought it would be a difficult process. Turns out it was the easiest thing ever. Now that I have it, I often find myself randomly browsing plane tickets on Google, just because I can. It’s comforting to know that if right now in this moment I decided I wanted to go to Iceland, I could. (If money was no object, that is.)

It’s easy to get caught up in the “2016 was awful!” hooplah, I’m definitely guilty as charged there, but when I stepped back and really took a look at my year, it wasn’t so bad after all.

Here’s to making 2017 an even better year, with more adventures, more success, fulfilled goals, and continued personal growth!

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When news hit that Gord Downie, the lead singer of The Tragically Hip, had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, a ripple of shock spread across the country. The Hip have been a staple of Canadiana since they formed over thirty years ago. Their music has spanned generations, touching everyone from the Boomers to the Millennials.   On August 20th 2016, 11.7 million people tuned into CBC’s broadcast of The Tragically Hip concert. That’s one third of The Great White North’s population. Shock turned to action, and between ticket proceeds from The Hip’s latest tour Man Machine Poem, individual donations, and charity events, more than a million dollars has been raised for brain cancer research.

On November 26th 2016 Ceol Kids joined the fundraising efforts. Ceol Kids is the brilliant brainchild of drummer Julian Vardy, and is a collection of Toronto musicians that hold an annual fundraiser for The Regent Park School of Music. Prior to the concert, people of the public donate to pick the setlist for the show. The top 25 songs with the most donations are played during the set.

Usually the setlist contains all kinds of songs from different genres, but this year the setlist only contained songs by The Tragically Hip or Gord Downie’s solo project, and proceeds went toward the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research. Ceol Kids raised over $6000 just from the setlist donations (this doesn’t include proceeds from ticket sales, or individual donations).

According to Sunnybrook, glioblastoma, the type of brain cancer that Downie was diagnosed with, affects 3 out of every 100,000 people in Canada, the US, and Europe. The average survival rate for patients affected by this type of aggressive cancer is less than one year. If you missed the show, please consider donating to the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research.

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Came home after work a few years ago to see this little guy sitting on my step. This was before I had a cell phone with a good camera. Thankfully I had my Nikon with me.

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In camera double exposure. 

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Sculpture Garden entrance in Toronto by the intersection of King and Church.

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A few years ago in my first year of college, I was about to head out for the day, only to discover this little guy hiding between the door and the frame. I scooped him up into my hand, and decided to take a picture and admire his beauty before I set him down in a safe place. I was already running late, so this extra ten minutes set me back a little more than I could afford. According to my program’s code that deals with late students or unexplained absences, the teacher’s are required to take five percent off of a student’s final grade if they’re tardy. When I entered class ten minutes late my teacher informed me of this, then he asked me why I was late because that was out of character for me. I told him about the praying mantis in the door frame. Disbelieving me he said jokingly “pics or it didn’t happen.” I pulled out my phone and showed him this picture. He looked shocked, but also amused and impressed. 

Before walking away he whispered “You can have your five percent back.”

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Sometimes you’ve got to take life a little slow and appreciate the little things.

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Doesn’t get more Canadian than this.

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Morning, North America. 

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Got out of the pool to see this beauty of a sunset. Immediately grabbed my phone and ran out into the field. 

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One of my favourite things about summer is the annual family BBQ. Yesterday, for the first time in a while, I got to escape the bustling city and experience the quiet of rural Ontario. The animals and expansive landscape at my uncle’s farm has a way of making me feel at peace in the world.